Supperessor = ear protection needed?

[edison bulb]

A few weeks ago I went to shoot at a friends house out in the boonies. I handed her my 9mm to hear what it sounded like without ear protection. At 40-50 feet away she fired one round into the target.

Even at that distance, the shot was extremely loud. I wouldn't have wanted to be any closer. This experience got me thinking that if I ever needed to use a gun inside the home in self-defense, permanent deafness, hearing loss, or an increase in the minimal tinnitus I already have are great possibilities. I've debated keeping hearing protection next to the firearm, but am concerned that in an adrenaline fueled life-and-death moment, fumbling with that instead of working the cellphone & firearm is not in my best interest or capability.

So I'm thinking about picking up two suppressors for .45 for me and the wife.

SilencerCo writes this about their suppressors:

"SilencerCo silencers lower the sound signature of your firearm to the point where it is safe and comfortable to the ear to shoot without the need of hearing protection, making your shooting experience safer and more enjoyable."​

How accurate is that statement? Does anyone have any experience shooting 9mm or .45 suppressed with or without hearing protection?

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[jbett98]

Watch this.

 

[edison bulb]

Wow

 

[Stomper]

I too am enjoying slightly mild tinnitus this very moment as I type. The OHSA standard is an average 85-dB exposure over the course of 8 hours requires hearing protection be suplied to workers in that environment.

Permanent damage to your hearing can occur starting around 95-100 dB. To give you an idea, driving in an open top car averages and often exceeds 115-125 dB. Just because it "doesn't hurt", doesn't mean it's not doing damage.

Another basic way to gauge noise levels, if you have to elevate your voice to be heard due to background/environmental noise, it's hearing protection time. The only true way to evaluate the noise level would be for you to use a dB meter and see what the "actual" is.

Like fuel economy listings by auto makers, sound levels are claimed using the most absolute advantageous criteria usually in a controlled lab environment, and actual performance can/will vary (sometimes very widely)

Hope that helps.

 

[The Heretic]

I have moderate hearing damage; tinnitus and freqs. and sound levels I simply do not hear. Others I cannot understand.

Much of my damage comes from machinery (I used to be a mech), but also from working in factories and so on, not to mention shooting.

Instantaneous noise like a gunshot requires higher sound pressure to damage hearing. Lesser pressure noise, like some machinery or wind noise takes longer.

So it isn't just dBs, it can also the amount of time.

One problem with watching vids of suppressed firearms is the audio systems on a lot of vid equipment will simply clip the audio at a certain noise level, making it quieter than it seems. You can often noticed this when the background audio disappears. Here is an excellent example:

I am not sure how quiet that suppressor is, but I can say with some certainty that it isn't as quiet as that vid makes it seem. Notice every time he shoots the audio cuts out a little.

The video of the guy shooting in the house doesn't seem to suffer from this, at least not that my very imperfect hearing can detect, but you do need to be aware of the issue and it would be best to experience it for yourself.

That said, a suppressor, especially and integral suppressor, would probably be an advantage in shooting in confined areas without hearing protection.

 

[jbett98]

I have an Osprey and run it on an HK45 Tactical with the express purpose of home defense and/or a zombie apocalypse.
The Osprey has more internal volume due to it's rectangular shape and does have a deeper tone compared to other round cans.
The alternative of defending yourself with an un-suppressed weapon with it's greater potential hearing loss doesn't make sense to me no matter what some of the armchair lawyers say about using one at home in an emergency.

 

[Flopsweat]

You're going to want subsonic ammunition. The sonic crack of a bullet exceeding the speed of sound can be quite loud. About 1050 FPS is a good threshold to use, since the speed of sound won't drop below that in atmospheric conditions you're likely to experience. Fortunately, you've picked a caliber that's known for using a relatively heavy, slow projectile. I don't shoot a lot of .45 (yet), but I've noticed that most .45 ammo is slower than 1050 FPS, so don't pay extra for "special subsonic" ammo, just look a the velocity printed on the box.

 

[Stomper]

Yeah, it was originally designed to truck along around 900fps IIRC.

 

[Flopsweat]

I have moderate hearing damage; tinnitus and freqs. and sound levels I simply do not hear. Others I cannot understand.

Much of my damage comes from machinery (I used to be a mech), but also from working in factories and so on, not to mention shooting.

Instantaneous noise like a gunshot requires higher sound pressure to damage hearing. Lesser pressure noise, like some machinery or wind noise takes longer.

So it isn't just dBs, it can also the amount of time.

One problem with watching vids of suppressed firearms is the audio systems on a lot of vid equipment will simply clip the audio at a certain noise level, making it quieter than it seems. You can often noticed this when the background audio disappears. Here is an excellent example:

I am not sure how quiet that suppressor is, but I can say with some certainty that it isn't as quiet as that vid makes it seem. Notice every time he shoots the audio cuts out a little.

The video of the guy shooting in the house doesn't seem to suffer from this, at least not that my very imperfect hearing can detect, but you do need to be aware of the issue and it would be best to experience it for yourself.

That said, a suppressor, especially and integral suppressor, would probably be an advantage in shooting in confined areas without hearing protection.

I've shot suppressed firearms in many different calibers. I have not needed hearing protection with any of them so long as subsonic ammo was used (see my post above). This includes .223 rifles and pistols. There may be some brands out there that are less effective, but I haven't experienced them yet.

 

[Flopsweat]

Yeah, it was originally designed to truck along around 900fps IIRC.

That's my understanding. I've seen some handloads go around 1300, but I'm assuming they're using really lightweight bullets to keep chamber pressures safe.

 

[jbett98]

My SBR 300 Blackout with an AAC 7.62 can is as quiet as you can get for a rifle setup, plus the 30 rd mag gives you more defense in a long drawn out fight when a hoard of zombies break down your front door.

 

[clearconscience]

I made the stupid mistake of taking my ear protection off out shooting in the woods and unloaded a few remaining rounds from my AR with a miculek comp on the end.
I thought my ears were bleeding.

The manf specifications on DB level will be exxagerated, but you shouldn't have an issue not wearing ear protection shooting with a can on.
That's kinda the point.

 

[Nwcid]

I have several cans and use them on several firearms. Both with Subsonic and supersonic ammo. I have never felt the need or want to use hearing protection with either as long as I am shooting in the open. One time I was in a covered "bay" at a "range" and it was still not unpleasant, but it was louder. In general even shooting supersonic ammo is not that loud as the sound is displaced.

I have only heard 2 .45 cans on pistols and I was not that impressed. Even though the .45 is slow it takes a lot of volume in a can to make it quiet. I have heard great things about the Osprey though.

Now with that said if you are in a situation that requires you to suddenly shoot you will not notice until later. I have a few examples of this, but the most recent was about a month ago and I have since added ear plugs to my truck. I was driving down the road and I saw 2 dogs attacking a deer. I grabbed my AR pistol with 7.5" barrel. I am not sure if there is another gun that is much louder then this...... Anyhow, a few effective rounds down range didn't even notice. After all was said and done and I was back driving my ears were defiantly ringing and not fun.

 

[mjbskwim]

A friend has a few cans.He has the 300 blackout suppressed and it is as quiet as his 22 suppressed.
Now when he shoots his 308 AR with a suppressor and super sonic ammo,you don't hear the blast at the muzzle but down range. It has a crack of a 22mag rifle at the muzzle but definitely not deafening.
I would say it would be a great investment for the reasons you are talking about.
Hey maybe you don't notice the loud report at the time, but you will soon after

 

[Classic]

Had the pleasure of shooting a friends 9mm AR suppressed and even indoor in the LE Bay at West Coast Armory (we had it to ourselves) I was shooting this thing and didn't need hearing protection. I've seen .22lr suppressed pistols & rifles where the loudest part was the brass hitting the ground. I have considered getting one for my home defense gun (the excuse for the wife) so if I ever have to defend my home we don't go deaf but still cant justify the cost of the trust, tax stamp and suppressor.

 

[jbett98]

My belief is to acquire form 4 and form 1 items now, not later.
Because possibly in the near future the Feds may stop certain items to be purchased and the only way to buy one is a pre ban one.
We all know what happens to the prices when things are banned, just look at Magpul 30 rounders after the Sandy Hook shooting. $75.00 on eBay.
What if some nut uses a suppressor on an AR and shoots up a grade school.
Get a gun trust and buy them now.

 

[Mr Smith]

Usually the loudest part of shooting a suppressed weapon is the action cycling on a semi auto, and the bullet impact against the target.

as for the .223 comment: I don't see the point in shooting a suppressed .223 with subsonic ammo.

might as well shoot a .22lr at that point lol. you can get .22lr in 60gr rounds that stay subsonic

 

[teflon6string]

I'm hoping that I'll never need to shoot an un-suppressed weapon without ear protection. Ever.

That would be a dire emergency meaning I have a fraction of a second to neutralize a deadly threat in order to survive/prevent harm to innocents. Risk some horrible ear pain and possible further degradation of my already damaged hearing? If I have to, yeah.

 

[mjbskwim]

I'm hoping that I'll never need to shoot an un-suppressed weapon without ear protection. Ever.

That would be a dire emergency meaning I have a fraction of a second to neutralize a deadly threat in order to survive/prevent harm to innocents. Risk some horrible ear pain and possible further degradation of my already damaged hearing? If I have to, yeah.

Heck even hunting I wear those little ear plugs on a plastic,whatever it is.That's my usual and they don't take up any room on your neck.
Same ones Hickok45 wears.Only take a second to deploy and you should have that much time before you shoot a large game animal

 

[teflon6string]

Oh hell yes! If there's any plan to shoot - hunting, target shooting, teaching noobs, I use ear protection religiously. Double always for indoors and some of those Code Brown weapons outdoors too. I just hope a two-footed predator never disrupts my plans and preparatons. Really loud noise is painful.